Robert Desnos, J’AI TANT RÊVÉ DE TOI translated by Mark Polizzotti
She, Mysterious
I'VE DREAMED OF YOU SO MUCH
I’ve dreamed of you so much that your reality slips away
Is there still time to touch that warm body
Kiss the lips where that voice is born
Your beloved voice
I’ve dreamed of you so much that my arms
Used to crushing my chest as I try to hug your shadow
Might not espouse your true forms
And faced with the real image of what has haunted me
Governed me for days and years
I too would become shadow
Cruel emotional balance
I’ve dreamed of you so much that time has run out
I must be waking up
Asleep on my feet with body exposed
To all the images of life
And of love and of you
The only one who matters to me now
I could no sooner touch your forehead
Or your lips than the lips and forehead
Of a random stranger
I’ve dreamed so much of you walked talked
Slept so much with your ghost
That maybe all that’s left for me
Is yet to be a ghost myself
Among other ghosts and a hundred times more shadow
Than the shadow that walks
Treading ever so lightly
Over the sundial of your life
World Poetry Review 